Walkers
by The Storm Seeker
Summary: Cupas life is changed forever as she meets a mysterious man. As she travels with him, she meets friend and foe alike while she slowly unravels the mystery of this man and the truth about him and what he is.
1. Chapter 1

The forest night was cool. A girl in a green hoodie was sleeping peacefully on a makeshift leaf bed. However, a loud crash awoke her instantly, her orange eyes wide. The girl listened to the forest night. She realized that it wasn't just one sound, but many. She peered though the thick bush to cachet a glimpse of what was coming her way.

Her leather gloved hands parted the thick bush just enough for her to see what was going on. She had not prepared herself for what she saw. Just a few feet beyond the bush was a group of at lest thirty zombies. The zombies were all moving toward something. She followed their course of movement and found herself looking at the side of some iron claded figure.

Cupa froze when she realized how close the iron claded figure was to her. She also noticed the sword it was holding. It was a diamond sword that seemed to be tinted purplish. Cupa had heard many tales of miners possessing something called "enchanted" items. While she didn't know much about these "enchanted" items nor how true the stories about them were, the only thing she was sure of was that she didn't want to get struck by that sword. She thought of what to do.

Cupa was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the armoured figure speak in a booming gruff voice. "Do thee think that a score and a half of your kin would be enough to slay thy? I think not!" Cupa was now sure that the figure was a man. She watched as the man raised his sword high and charged towards the zombies with great speed. Cupa wondered if the human had a death wish. She watched as the man rushed into one of them, knocking it to the ground and stumped on it's neck. He then swung his sword in an arc, cutting five zombies in half. He spun on his heel and cut down another three zombies.

Cupa soon realized something was off with this human. "Where is his face?" She asked herself. It looked as if he had yellow eyes placed slightly above where she thought they would be while the rest of his face was black and featureless. She continued to watch the man fight.

Already ten zombies laid dead. While he was getting ready to finish off two more, another zombie came up to him and punched him in his near featureless face, below the left eye. That blow made him stumble while the same zombie punched him again, sending him tumbling down a small hill.

Cupa realized that she was now looking at the man's left side and that he was only a few yards away from her. She watched as the man got up and while doing so, something black fell from him. She looked back to his face and saw that something had changed. Cupa could now see a cobalt blue eye surround by pale skin. _"He was wearing a mask?" _Cupa thought as she watched in awe. From what little of the man's face she could see, Cupa could tell that he was angry.

The man let out a roar of rage as he charged forth into the remaining score of zombies. The man was now holding a diamond sword in each hand. The new sword, which he held in his left hand, seemed to have sparks dancing along its length. Cupa saw a zombie get struck by that sword and watched it be flung back and set ablaze. Within three minutes, the rest of the undead were slayed. The man looked around him only once before setting off left from Cupas point of view. Something about that man made Cupa curious, but she decided not to follow him. Instead Cupa went right, in the direction of the desert. The moon was in the center of the night sky.

* * *

It was around the point were the moon was half way between the center of the sky and the horizon when Cupa realized something was off. She slowed her walk as more and more bodies of monsters littered the ground. Bodies of zombies laid torn in two, spiders with most of their legs gone oozing green fluid, and piles of burnt bones that were once skeleton archers were struned about. Cupa then heard sounds other than the night wind and jungle insects.

She carefully approached some bushes that were in the direction of which the noise seemed to be coming from and peaked out them. She saw that on the other side was the desert biomen. Cupa could see on a small dune was that man, surrounded by many mobs. She also realized that a little bit more of his face was reveled. He was still holding a diamond sword in each hand.

"Come on now! Ti's be the best you have?" He exclaimed as he stabbed two zombies through their heads with one sword as the other set a spider aflame upon striking it. Cupas eyes widend when she realized that the man was surrounded by one hundred and fifty-six or so mobs. As much as she tried to look away, she couldn't look away from the doomed man. Yet, it appeared not to be what Cupa thought it would be. After a minuet, Cupa realized with a gasp that the man didn't seem to be doomed at all.

In the soft silvery blue-white light of the full moon, the man seemed to dance as he fought the mobs around him. Everytime the man turned or spun or swung his swords; the reflections of the moon light seemed to complement the extraordinary grace he performed each action with. It was like a deadly yet eerily beautiful dance. Cupa could not help but to watch the unbelievable spectacle unfold before her.

The mans "dance" abruptly stopped. Cupa didn't understand why he would stop fighting when he was still surrounded by mobs. It the began to dawn on her why the man stopped. All of the mobs that surrounded him were dead. _"When did he kill all of those mobs!?"_ Cupa thought as she pulled out of the bush. After a minute of thinking about it, she had her answer. Every single move the man had made must have killed a mob or two. Thinking about it farther, Cupa realized that the man didn't seem tired. She decided that was the time to leave before he noticed her.

After a few minutes of walking, Cupa looked over her shoulder. Though she could still see the man, he was so far away that she could hardly see him. Cupa breathed a sigh of relief and stopped walking cautiously. She took three steps and stepped on a dry stick, which made a loud snapping sound. For reasons unknown to her, Cupa looked back again before shaking her head._"Cupa, come on. There is no way he could have heard that or see me."_ Cupa thought as she turned around and continued walking in the direction she was going.

Cupa continued walking for two minutes before before she heard very faint crashes. She looked over her shoulder and saw that, though still very far away, the man seemed to be running to her. Cupa could see that he still had both diamond swords drawn. Adrenalin coursed though her veins as she ran as fast as she could; still being a creeper though, which were never good at running.

With fear clouding her mind, Cupa ran through a bush. She didn't see the tree root on the other side of the bush until her boot caught it and tripped. Not having time to put her hands out in front of her, her forehead slammed hard into the knobby tree roots as she fell to the ground. Without thinking, Cupa rolled onto her back and rubbed the angry red mark on her sore forehead. She was dazed.

Cupa froze however when the bush she had just came through erupted into a flurry of twigs and leafs as the man plowed through it. She could now see that the man was far tall than what she had first thought. _"My god, he's almost as tall as an Enderman!"_ The black mask which he wore still obscured most of his face, save for both of his cobalt blue eyes and the pale skin of his temple. The intent to kill was so strong in his cold eyes that Cupa thought she could actually feel it. Cupa closed her eyes and awaited the blow from either one of the diamond blades he held that would end her life when those eyes fell upon her.

But it never came. "Huh?" Cupa said as she wondered why she wasn't dead. She opened her large orange eyes to a sight she wasn't expecting. The man, who practically stood over her and looked ready to kill her a moment ago, was now kneeling down before her with a hand extended out. He had only one diamond sword out. All traces of the intent to kill was gone from his eyes and was replaced with concern. "Are you okay?" The man asked in a gentle voice that she didn't think he would have. Cupa was too shocked to answer.

"Are you okay?" He asked again with a more concern filled voice. Cupa, still in shock and unsure of what to do, simply nodded her head but hesitated in taking the mans gaunlented hand. She then decided it would be best to take his hand. Cupa noted that the diamond sword was in the ground with the mans other hand resting on the bottom of the hilt. She was surprised of how effortlessly the man lifted her to her feet.

"What are you doing out here by yourself? Don't you realize how dangerous it is?" The man asked Cupa."I'm lost." Cupa lied. The man looked over her carefully."Well then, you should bring some form of protection if you're doing anything which has the possibility of you getting lost. There be many dangerous things out here." He said as he pulled his diamond sword from the ground. Cupa eyed the sword with a fearful look.

The man must have noticed the fearful look in Cupas eyes."Why are you looking at my sword like that?" The man said as he swung the sword over his right shoulder, the broad side facing down. Cupa tore her gaze off the sword and looked the man in the eye."Sorry, I didn't mean to stare." She said nervously."What, did you think I was going to cut you down with it?" He asked in bewilderment.

"Kinda." Cupa truthfully said. She flinched when the man chuckled."Oh you don't have to worry about me. I'm not the kind of person who kills people just to get their stuff." He said to her in a reassuring voice. Cupa breathed a small sigh of relief."Anyway, it'll be dawn soon. There's a town," He gestured with his sword." Half a days hike that way. Well, half a days hike for me anyway. For you," He paused, looking at Cupa once over."You might make it there by nightfall if you start now." With that, the man walked opposite of where he said a village would be. Cupa, feeling awkward and bewildered by the strange encounter, walked in the direction of the village.

* * *

The first rays of dawn were just starting to paint the sky and bath the forest with a faint light when Cupa saw a small group of human men. There was only three of them. Two wore iron chest plates and leggings with leather boots and caps. The other man wore an iron helmet, chest plate and leggings with leather boots. The first two men had iron swords while the last man had a gold sword. Cupa hid behind a nearby tree as soon as she had saw them. She waited there for a minute, wondering if they had noticed her.

When Cupa peered around the tree, she did not see them. "So what is a cute girl like yourself doing out in the middle of nowhere?" A voice said, off to the side behind Cupa. She jumped and turned around to see one of the men off to her left behind her. She backed away from him only to back into the other. When Cupa jumped from him did she realized what had happend. She was surrounded by the three men. The look in their eyes made her uncomfortable.

"I was just a little lost, but I'm fine now." She said to them before she tried to step away. One of the men that was wearing a leather cap blocked her way. "Lost eh?" The man wearing the iron helmet said while grinning. Something about that mans grin unsettled Cupa. Then the other leather capped man spoke."It's been a long time since I'v had some tail."

The other leather capped man suddenly lunged forward from behind and grabbed Cupa by her wrists. Cupa opened her mouth to cry out for help when a hand clasped around her mouth, stifling her cries. While the second leather capped man held her wrists together and above her head, the first leather capped man spoke as he moved his sword closer to Cupa's chest."Not the kind of girl I normally like, but you'll to do." With that, he began to slowly cut open Cupa's jacket, starting from the top of the zipper."Now don't you move or else you'll get hurt." The man with the gold sword said as he stood off to Cupa's left, grinning. It was around a quarter of the way down the zipper where the man, with his other free hand, began to open Cupa jacket."Well what do you know, she isn't wearing a bra!" The man said while both cutting open and opening up Cupa's jacket . He had the look of a wolf eyeing an injured sheep in his eyes. Absolute panic filled Cupa's mind at this point when the man suddenly stopped and started to gag. Cupa, who was looking away from the man, looked back to his face to see a shocked expression on his face and his eyes bulging.

Cupa's eyes traveled down from his face and happend to catch sight of something glimmering. She focused on the glimmer to which she found a strange and alarming sight. Sticking out from the center of the man's chest was what looked like a diamond sword that had within it a line of red down its middle with golden branches sweeping out from it at regular intervals with a blue orb to each golden branch. Cupa also noticed the blue-white and orange-white sparks that crackled from the blade.

It was then that a familiar voice boomed in her ears."Thou shalt not rape!" The smell of burning flesh struck Cupas nose. The man coughed once more before the sword was removed from him. The man looked down at the glowing white spot in his iron chestplate where the sword had existed. Cupa was surprised at the fact that the man was still alive. The man looked back at her when an iron gaunlented hand balled into a fist connected the right side of his head. Cupa heard a sound similar to what bare rock would make if a creeper exploded on it. She felt two small, hard things hit the base of her neck while feeling something warm and wet hit her face as she watched in horror as the man's right eye popped out of his skull and his head seemed to elongate at an angle as he was sent flying.

It then occurred to Cupa as to what she had felt hit her when she took a quick glance down. On the ground near her feet were two of the mans teeth. With fringe horror did Cupa also realicze that the wet thing that had hit her face was the mans blood. The man holding her wrists release his grip from the shock of the sudden attack. The man with gold sword too seemed to be shocked at the sudden appearece of the masked man.

The other two men snapped out of their stupor. The other leather helmeted man tried to slash at the masked man but the masked man blocked it with his diamond sword. Cupa noticed something odd._"Either that isn't the same sword he had a moment ago or I was just imagining it."_ She decided that now was her chance to escape. Cupa looked back over her shoulder as she ran. She stopped immediately when she saw how far away she was from them. "How did I cover that much distance in so little time? There's no way I can run that fast." Cupa said to herself as she watched. She was easily fifty feet from them.

Cupa got her answer when she saw the masked man punch the other leather capped man in the chest. The man was sent flying and landed twenty-four feet away. Before he could get up, the masked was over him. He slashed the leather capped man with his sword while his other free hand beat him. After two minuets, the leather capped man screamed nor moved no more. He was now nothing more than a gory mess that was half sliced and half pulped.

The man with the gold sword charged the masked man from behind, sword thrustted forward. Just when he had reached him, the masked man reached behind himself and grabbed the gold sword's hilt with one hand and the man's forearm with the other. In one motion, the masked man hurled him over his shoulder and throw him thirty-five feet away. It was then that Cupa realized that the man was thrown in her general direction. The man landed hard on his stomach. Cupa was surprised when he started to slowly get back up. As he started to push himself up, he looked at her with hate filled eyes."You." He said threateningly."When I get up, I'm going to snap your neck you bit-ARGH!" He was cut off as the masked man stepped on his back and yanked his right arm behind his back.

"What did you say you were going to do to her when you got up?" The masked asked the man in a low, menacing voice. Cupa cringed when the masked man twisted the mans arm with a pop. The man screamed in pain as his elbow was dislocated."Well?" The masked man asked the man in the same voice. Cupa detected something else besides menace in the masked mans voice; rage. He twisted the mans arm again with another pop. The man screamed in greater agony as his elbow became even more twisted and his shoulder dislocated."Did thou think that I would just stand by and let you rape this girl?" The masked man asked a little louder. The man's silence was rewarded with more twisting of his elbow.

The masked man bent over a little before speaking to the man."Now normally I don't believe in making my enemies suffer, which is why I usually give them a quick death. But," He paused, twisting the man's forearm some more as rage seeped into his voice."Scum like you, who would rape an innocent girl like her," The masked man pointed to Cupa with his free hand."Are people I will never give mercy to." With that, the masked man began to twist the man's arm at the elbow and did not stop. Cupa finally noticed something about the man's elbow region. Seeping from the iron armour plates was the mans blood. Then Cupa heard a sound other than the man's screaming. It took her a moment to realize that the strange screeching sound was the armor around the man's elbow that was being twisted. Then, with a loud heavy sheer the armor gave just as the masked man twisted the man's arm off at the elbow. The man screamed in utter agony and horror as he felt his forearm get ripped off and saw it get dropped in front of his face. The masked man touched the now bloody stump of where the mans elbow was and the blood coming from that wound lessened greatly. The masked man then stomped the man's left leg hard enough to leave a large dent in the iron legging. Cupa now wished that the mask the man was wearing wasn't broken. The look of satisfaction in those cobalt blue eyes sent chills down her spine. He watched the man a moment longer before speaking."Let you torment the innocent no more." Then the masked man turned to Cupa.

As soon as he had turned to face her, all of the malice and brutality left his eyes. He covered the fifteen feet between them in just a few long strides."Are you alright?" He asked in a gentle voice. Cupa was dumbfounded by this sudden change. She was snapped out of her stupor when he spoke again."Did they hurt you?" Cupa could see that his gaze fell upon her damaged jacket."I'm okay. They just damaged my jacket, that's all." Cupa replied nervously as a slight blush spread across her face.

The man sighed."That's good hear. I thought that I was too late." The masked man said in a relieved tone. It was then that something struck Cupa as odd."How...did you find me? Weren't you going in the opposite direction in the jungle?" The masked man's eyes suddenly looked nervous."Yeah, about that. Now don't take this the wrong way, but I was following you." He said nervously. Cupa was shocked and unnerved that this man was following her.

"Why were you following me?" Cupa asked nervously, with a trace of fear in her voice."In the jungle, I saw that you didn't have any armor or weapons to defend yourself with and I figured that whatever luck Notch had blessed you with would run out sooner or later." He answered in a serious tone."Besides," His tone became solemn."I got sick and tired of most of the lost strangers I help dieing." His eyes weren't focused on her, but rather some doleful memories that his statement had brought to mind.

He snapped out of his stupor when he caught Cupa looking at his bloody covered gaunlented hand. It was then that he realized that she had seen how brutally killed those two men and maimed the other."Sorry that you had to see that, but I absolutely hate people who rape." He scratched the back of his helmet out of nervousness. Despite his answer, Cupa was still uneasy. She didn't know weather or not if this man was insane. He apparently caught the worry in Cupas eyes."Do not worry, I bring you no harm. If I had meant to harm you, then I would have already done it." He said in a stern voice.

He then looked up once into the clear blue sky of the early morning before looking back to Cupa."Come on now." He said. Cupa was taken back."What?" She asked, bewildered as to what he meant. The man sighed."Though it may be the morning, we're still quite a ways from the village. If we get moving now, then we'll be in the village by dust." He said flatly."Oh yeah, that's right." She said as she remembered what she was doing before those men showed up. She really didn't want to be near this man, but she figured that she wouldn't be able to out run him nor over power him if she didn't follow. Nor did Cupa think it would be a wise idea to use her powers on him. After seeing what he did to those three men, Cupa didn't even want to attempt that.

With no options left, Cupa sighed and started to follow the man. They walked in silence for what seemed like a long time before the man spoke."By the way, what is you name?" Cupa was taken back by the suddenness of the question."Why do you want to know my name?" She asked a bit nervously."I'm just curious, that's all." His eyes then sifted to the ground."But it's okay if you don't want to." He said in a slightly sad tone. Cupa found it odd how different this man sounded now than what he did from before. She decided that is was safe to tell him her name."Cupa." She said a bit softly."Huh?" He cocked an eyebrow at her statement."My name is Cupa." She said a bit more clearly. Cupa thought she could feel his mood lighten up. She couldn't shake the feeling that under that mask he was smiling."That sounds like a nice name." He said while he turned to look Cupa in the eye as they walked."My name is Logan." He said with a more lively tone. There was something in his eyes that told Cupa that he was not a threat to her._"Maybe,"_ Cupa thought._"Maybe I shouldn't be afraid of him at all."  
_

* * *

It was dusk by the time the two had reached the village. By the time Logan had found a place in the village to for the next few days it was just the beginnings of night.

* * *

**Notice: **The reason why the paragraphs seem so short for the most part is because I actully have to write this on paper first before typing it. The reason for this is simple: I am incappable of typing from mind unto computer because of the fact that I can not type fast enough to keep the trian of thought. That is why I must write it out on paper first. Also, when I had posted this chapter, I was over 50% done with the second one. At this point, I am over 75% complete with chapter two. On paper, it's about 10 pages long on college rule paper, front to back in smallish writing. Though I will not know until it is posted, but I'm pretty sure it may contian twice of the amout of words that chapter one had, or even more. O.O I will try to write as often as I can and type as often as I can so that chapters come in frequently, but it seems that I really can only write in a school enviroment. :/ So I'm going to have to figure out a way to write at home more often than I do at school. Please, if you find any words that are not spelled correctly or sentences that seems off, like for exmaple missing a word or having the wrong form of a word; then please notify me in your review.

Also, these non-story sections will be seldom, so dont expect something like this section often. In fact, this may end up being the only one in the entire story. But only time will tell.


	2. Chapter 2

"I am sorry that there is only one room available for you two to stay in." The villager said to Logan. "It is okay." The villager looked over Logan's shoulder to get a better look at Cupa. He then turned back to Logan with a questioning expression. "Where did you find that girl?" The villager said before dropping his voice to a whisper "Isn't she a little … young?" Logan scowled slightly as he answered in a low, slightly annoyed voice. "Listen, it's not like that. I found her out in the jungle before dawn today. I had told her to go here, but on the way she almost got raped by three bandits. I had to escort her rest of the way here."

The villager thought over it for a moment. "I understand now." The villager said as he handed the key over to Logan. "Again thank you for your kindness, sir." Logan said as he took the key. He then turned to Cupa. "Come on Cupa let's get to the room." Logan said as he turned to the stairs and began walking to them. Cupa followed him up the stairs and down the short hallway where she found Logan standing in front of a wooden door. Logan put the key into the lock, turned the key until he heard a click, and opened the door. He had to duck under the doorway in order to actually fit through it. Cupa followed him into the room and saw that it only had one window and one bed. She shot a wary look at Logan.

"The bed is yours. I will just sleep standing up in the corner over there." He said with a reassuring tone before his tone changed to a firm tone. "Now get to bed, you must be tired, so get some rest." Logan then walked over to the corner of the room almost diagonal from the bed. He leaned his back against the wall and crossed his arms across his chest. "Please Cupa get some rest." He said in a gentle, caring tone. Though she didn't feel tired she did what he asked and found the bed more comfortable than what she first thought. Cupa suddenly felt extremely tired and drifted to sleep before she knew it.

* * *

Cupa awoke from her slumber feeling well rested. The light of the early morning sun came into the room from its only window. She looked over to the corner where Logan was standing last night. Cupa was surprised to find that, other than a slight drop of his head, Logan had not moved from his spot. She also noticed that his eyes were closed. He really did fall asleep standing up. Cupa decided to get out of bed.

As soon as Cupa began to move the covers of the bed, Logan's eyes snapped open, his head shot up, and he drew one of his diamond swords in all one fluid motion. Cupa froze when his sight fell onto her. He relaxed almost instantly upon seeing Cupa. "Sorry about that, I thought someone had broken into the room." He said apologetically as he placed the diamond sword back into his inventory.

"So did you sleep well Cupa?" Logan asked suddenly. "Yes actually. That was the best sleep I've ever had in my life." Cupa said. Then a question formed in Cupa's mind and she couldn't resist asking it. "But did you get any sleep, Logan?" she asked him. "Yes actually I did sleep well last night." He said firmly. Cupa found something odd with his statement. "If you slept last night, then how did you know that my blanket was being moved?" Cupa said in a tone of slight mistrust.

"I can hear every Noise within my hearing range in my sleep." Logan said firmly. Cupa didn't quite believe him. "If you can hear everything in your sleep, then how come every little noise at night doesn't keep you up?" Cupa said testingly. Logan locked his eyes with hers before answering. "I've been around long enough to filter out the natural noises from the unnatural." He said in a voice so stern and firm that Cupa cringed a little. Yet there was no trace of aggravation in either his voice or eyes. There was something in his eyes that told Cupa that he was telling the truth. "Okay I believe you." she said honestly.

After words, Logan and Cupa made their way to the main floor of the building. A female farmer asked them a question as they began to make their way across the room to the door. "Would you like something to eat?" Logan stopped in his tracks at the question. Cupa took two more steps before she realized that Logan had stopped. "Yes ma'am. Thank you for your kindness." Logan said as he walked to the chair at the counter that was closest to him. Though Cupa really wasn't hungry, she went to the counter and sat next to Logan.

"Sorry that it isn't a more filling meal." The female farmer said as she gave each of them a plate. The meal consisted of one loaf of bread, one cooked carrot, and one baked potato."Do you mind if I place my helmet on the counter?" Logan asked the female villager. "I don't mind." she replied. "Thank you, ma'am." He said as he took off the iron helmet. Cupa was surprised to see that what she thought was just a mask actually was only a part of a second full head helmet. Logan then lifted off the second helmet.

Cupa was surprised at what she saw. Logan looked much different from what she imagined. Instead of the scare covered, taught faced, unfriendly looking aged man she had imagined; Logan looked to be only in mid twenties. His skin fell somewhere between pale and fair, he had a strong jaw and short brownish hair. "It's ok really" he said. Logan then turned to Cupa and smiled.

"I can tell that you weren't expecting me to look like this." Logan said in a humorous tone. "Y-yeah" Cupa said nervously. They were silent as they ate, and after Logan had finished his plate and thanked the female farmer, they left the small in. After three minutes of following Logan around the Village, Cupa finally asked him a question."Just what are you looking for?" Logan, who had not put back on either of his helmets since leaving the inn, stopped and turned to Cupa. "I'm looking for the blacksmith of this town so I can repair my helmet." He said, gesturing to the full head helmet.

At that he turned back around and took five more steps before he stopped again. "Ah, there it is." He said as he walked to it. He stopped short of the door way and turned back to Cupa. "Don't feel as if you have to go everywhere I go. If there is some place in this village or near it that you would want to see, then feel free to." He said in a friendly tone."I'm going to be here for a while."

With that; Cupa, having nothing better to do, decided to explore more of the village. Though she had seen many villages before, she had never seen one this large. It was more on the scale of a town than an actually village. After a while Cupa got bored with exploring the village, so she went back to where Logan was. When she poked her head though the door way, she saw an odd sight. Logan was sitting table with a strange box in his hand with sand in it. On the ground to either side of him was a pile of sand. He had a funnel below the box, which lead into a bucket. Cupa noticed the female blacksmith watching Logan as well.

"What is he doing?" Cupa asked the blacksmith. She also noticed some of the other things on the table."Well he said he was making something, but I have no idea as to what he's making that requires five blocks of sand that isn't glass." The blacksmith said to Cupa without even looking at her. "So what is that he's holding?" Cupa said. It was then that the blacksmith turned to face Cupa. "It's some sort of hollow box with an odd bottom." The blacksmith said. "It looks normal to me." Cupa said, looking back to Logan for a quick second. "It's not. You can somewhat see through it. I've seen that most of the sand doesn't get through the bottom. The sand that does go through the bottom he collects in that bucket. "The blacksmith paused before continuing. "The rest of the sand he dumps on the ground." She said while looking aggravated. "But I have no idea though as what the other two items he pulled out are." She said in a defeated tone."What are they?" Cupa asked. The blacksmith sighed. "One is some kind of thick bowel made of stone while the other is an oddly shaped round rod that is made of stone too. He placed some coal into the bowel and used the rod to crush the coal into a fine powder." The blacksmith said.

The female blacksmith then looked as if she had remembered something important."Sorry, I didn't introduce myself before." The blacksmith said apologetically with a slight doleful look complemented with a blush of embarrassment. The she smiled. "My name is Vera. What is your name?" Vera said in a cheery tone. "Cupa." Cupa said in a friendly tone. However, before the two could continue with their conversation, Logan spoke.

"Excuse me Miss Vera, but do you happen to have any clay?" Logan said as he dumped the last box full of sand on the ground to his right."Why do you need clay?" Vera asked Logan as he turned to face them."It's the final ingredient I need to make a new face cover." He said gesturing over to his full head helmet. Cupa was surprised to see that the part of the helmet that covered the face could actually be removed from the rest of the helmet. Vera, on the other hand, looked more annoyed than surprised."Can't you just fix it on an anvil?"

Logan closed his eyes and sighed before opening them again. "No, I can't. Once this material cracks or breaks, it cannot be fixed." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Well actually, it can be fixed, but-" Logan was cut off by Vera. "Then why are you making a new one if your old one can be fixed?" Vera said aggravated. Again Logan sighed. "Please don't cut me off mid sentence. As I saying before; there is a material I can use to fix it, but the thing is that I can't make it." He said in an annoyed tone. "Why not? Is it that you do know how to make it?" Vera asked. "No, I do know how to make it, but I can't." Logan said in a slightly annoyed tone. "If you know how to make this material that you referred to, then why don't you make it? Is that whatever is needed to make it is not present? You look to be quite the seasoned miner, so you can just mine what you need so you don't have to go though the trouble of making a new one and use my resources in the-" Vera said before she was cut off by Logan.

"Because the properties of this world do not allow it!" Logan said in a frustrated voice that was louder than he intended. His statement left both Cupa and Vera blinking. His voice reverted to a more friendly tone. "Now, do you any clay?" Vera hesitated in answering for a moment. "Yes, but I only have a stack and a half of clay balls." A smile returned to Logan lips. "I don't even need that much. I only need four clay balls." Vera locked her eyes with his for a second before sighing. She broke eye contact with Logan before walking over to a double chest and retrieved four balls of clay from it.

Vera then walked back over to Logan. "Here." She said as she placed the four balls of clay in Logan's open hand. "Thank you. I will repay you for your assistance." He said before walking back over to the counter. Logan proceeded to put the clay balls in a bucket of water. He took a stick and began stirring the water and clay in the bucket. Once he was sure that no clay remained in the bottom of the bucket, he poured the powderized coal into the water-clay mixture. He stirred it again for a few minutes. Then he took the bucket which contained the super fine sand and poured it into the bucket with the water-clay-coal powder mixture. Vera then spoke.

"You do realize that the sand will settle on the bottom of the bucket, right?" Logan did not stop stirring when he spoke. "No, it won't. Come look." Both Vera and Cupa walked over to Logan and peered over his shoulder. They were surprised to see that the odd mixture was dough-like instead of just liquid. Logan was still stirring when he turned his head to them with a smile spread across his face."Not what you were expecting was it?" He said confidently. He stirred the dough-like mixture for another minute before he took the bucket and dumped its contents onto the clean counter.

Logan then proceeded to roll the dough like substance into a circular shape using the same stick he stirred it with. The dough-like material was blackish-grey in color and somewhat shinny. Cupa noticed that it seemed to get lighter in color and duller as Logan rolled it into shape. "Why is it getting lighter?" Cupa asked. "Well Cupa, it's getting lighter because it's drying out. It should be dry enough now for me to handle it without it deforming." With that, Logan placed the stick down and picked up the material. "Now for the firing process." He said with a slight bit of annoyance. "How much coal will that take to fire?" Vera asked. "Three." Logan said flatly. Without hesitation, Logan walked over the furnace, stuck the raw plate in the top slot, three pieces of coal in the bottom slot, and waited.

"So how does it work?" Vera asked as she held the old face cover up to the sunlight. Despite the cover looking opaque, Vera could actually see about as well as though glass, with the exception that everything was darker tinted. She lowered it to eye level to examine its thickness. It had to be, at most, three centimeters thick. She turned it over and held it out from her face. Save for the part of the cover where it was missing, Vera could not see though it. Finally she applied pressure to it, attempting to break it. She found the task impossible.

There must have been something funny about her expression, for Logan chuckled. "Hehe, I see that you are bewildered by its properties." Vera's shoulders dropped slightly. "Yeah." Logan chuckled again."Don't be fooled by its delicate appearance. That material can take a full force punch by a grown man and not even so much as crack. Heck, that face cover will stop a fully drawn bow." Logan said proudly.

Both Vera's and Cupa's eyes were wide with awe. Vera began to open her mouth to say something, but Logan cut her off. "Let me guess, you want to know the ratio of the ingredients?" He said in a teasing tone as his smile widen slightly. Vera closed her mouth as her eyes widen in shock. Logan chuckled heartily. "How did I know? Well let's just say that many people have asked me the same question countless times before. The ratio of the ingredients is three pieces of finely crushed coal to one bucket of super fine sand to one bucket of water to four clay balls." Logan said heartily with a hint of firmness. Then Vera finally spoke.

"Why does the sand and coal have to be so fine?" Vera said inquisitively. Logan's smile lessened slightly. "If the coal and sand are not within a certain range, then it will not work. If the coal powder is too coarse, then the material will explode. If the sand is too coarse, then the material will be too transparent. Also, if it isn't mixed well enough, then the material will be too brittle." Vera and Cupa were silent as they let the information sink in. "Wow." They said at once before looking at each other incredulously.

"Well I should go check on the new face cover. It should be done firing by now." Logan said before walking over to the furnace. The furnace was dim. Logan held his hand out from the fuel slot cover before touching it. The stone cover was only warm. He then opened the furnace and pulled out the newly made face cover. It was lukewarm to the touch. Logan examined the face cover for any defects. Satisfied with finding no defects in the new face cover, Logan walked over to the counter where his helmet laid. Cupa, being curious, wanted to see how the helmet was put together in the first place.

She could see that the plate was inserted near the top of the helmet where it was locked into place by unseen means. He then pulled the face cover down before putting back on the helmet. "Huh, so that's how it goes in there." Cupa said, unsure of what she just saw. She reached out towards the face cover with a gloved hand and tried to push it up. She was confused when it didn't move. Cupa then realized that Logan must have not been expecting her to do that, since he tensed up.

"Sorry." Cupa said as she withdrew her hand and looked away. "No, no. It's okay. You were just curious, that's all." Logan said reassuringly."I'm guessing that you really want to know how to slide this face cover up, huh?" Logan said questioningly. "Yeah..." Cupa said, trailing off. "Okay, let me show you." He said before he placed his gauntleted hand over the center of the cover. Cupa saw the hand push slightly hard into the cover before Logan moved it up. With the upwards motion of his pressing right hand, the cover slid up and into a hidden slot, revealing Logan's face. "The face cover normally just slides up only when my hand is doing that motion. However, there is a way for someone else to slide up the face cover; but I'm afraid I'm going to have to keep that a secret." Logan said nonchalantly.

Logan looked at the sky from a window in the small building. The sun was half way down from its apex. He then turned back to Vera. Logan then dropped to one knee, folded his left arm across his chest, and bowed his head. This took both Vera and Cupa by surprise, but before they could react, Logan spoke. "Thank you for providing me the materials I needed to make a new face cover, Madam Vera. I am indebted to you." He said in a tone similar to a knight. It was then that they noticed that Logan did not have that helmet on. _"When did Logan take off his helmet?" _Cupa thought to herself. Vera, not really knowing how to respond to this kind of situation, fumbled with her words. "You're welcomed..." Vera said awkwardly. Logan then tilted his head up to make eye contact with her.

"To show my gratitude, I will repay you with twenty fold of the amount of material I used." He said proudly. Vera thought about how much material Logan used and what twenty fold of it would be. When the answer came to her, Vera's eyes widen. "A stack and seven eighths of coal and a stack and one fourth of clay balls!" She almost yelled in disbelief. Even Cupa's eyes were wide at hearing those numbers. Vera took a breath before she spoke. "While it's nice that you're willing to repay me for the materials you used, but you don't have to go that far." Vera said in a stunned tone.

Without breaking eye contact with Vera, Logan rose to his feet. "I insist on it." He said in a semi-deep and commanding voice. Logan then put back on the full head helmet and bobbed his head forward. The face cover slid from the hidden slot and covered his face. Cupa and Vera both heard a clicking noise when he uncraned his neck. Logan reached into his inventory pocket and pulled out an iron pickaxe. He spun on his heel and covered the distance between him and the door's threshold in two long strides before stopping. He turned back around and looked towards Vera. "Vera, please make Cupa a suit of iron armor with a sword." He then turned to Cupa. "Please be safe."

Before either one of them could object, Logan was gone. By the time Cupa and Vera got out the door, he was already far down the street and almost out of the village. Then only way either of the girls could reach him now was to run. Not wanting to make a scene and embarrass themselves, Cupa and Vera stood there watching Logan until he disappeared over a small hill.

After two minutes of staring at the hill Logan went over, the two snapped out of their shocked state. Cupa turned to Vera. "I guess I should get going." Cupa said awkwardly. "Yeah, I guess I should start working on your armor and sword. Come by in the morning to pick it up, okay." Vera said with equal awkwardness. With that, the two parted ways.

A thought struck Cupa's mind as she was walking back to the Inn. _"Since Logan is away, I could just leave now."_ She mulled over the idea for a moment before shaking her head. _"No, I shouldn't do that. He doesn't seem to be a bad person." _She walked into the Inn's main lobby, retrieved the key from the manager, and went to their room. After unlocking the door and closing it behind her, Cupa kicked off her boots and laid on the bed.

Now that she had time to herself, Cupa could not stop thinking about what had happened in the last two days. Yesterday she had met the tallest human she has ever seen. Said human possesses incredible strength and speed. His skill with a sword and the way he uses it makes it look like he's dancing. He can be greatly outnumbered by multiple types of monsters and win with barely a scratch on him. He's very brutal to humans like those bandits she encountered the other day. He has some kind of weird diamond sword and he is very polite and friendly. But it was his one statement that struck Cupa the most._"__'Because the properties of this world do not allow it!__'__"_

"What did he mean by that?" Cupa thought aloud as she laid on top of the bed staring up at the ceiling. She couldn't make sense of that statement. _"Maybe it's a sign that he's a psycho."_ Cupa thought to herself. She kept trying to connect all of the events that had occurred so far after meeting him with his odd statement. However, the only thing Cupa managed to accomplish was giving herself a headache. She rolled over onto her side towards the nightstand, looking at the clock to see what the time was. It was six o' clock.

Cupa felt oddly tired from seeing the time. She got under the soft, warm red blanket, rested her head on the pillow which felt like a cloud, and fell asleep.

* * *

_Five hours and thirty-six minutes later_

Most of the village was asleep when the figure came over the small hill that over looked it. The figure moved with great speed towards the village. Gravel and earth was kick up to a meter into the air with each loud step. Then the running figure was revealed to Logan as he ran through the lighted streets of the village. Some of the villagers were waking up from the noise of Logan running through the streets.

Logan turned down one street and saw the Inn. He tired to slow down, but he miscalculated the distance between him and the Inn. He braced himself for the ensuring impact. The front door of the inn disintegrated into tens of thousands of splinters as Logan crashed into it. Logan, still having quite a bit of momentum; crashed into the wall, leaving a jagged crater in the wooden planks. Loud foot falls were heard as the people in the inn rushed down stairs to see what had made such a tremendous noise. Logan managed to look up in time to see the keeper of the inn run into the lobby. "What in the Sam hell happened!" He exclaimed as he looked at the damage. "I'm terribly sorry about this, sir." Logan said as he got up from the floor with a slight shake. The Inn Keeper turned to him.

"You did this!" He said in a mix of shock and anger. "Unfortunately, yes. I miscalculated the distance I had to slow down." Logan said in a regretful tone. The Inn Keeper cocked an eyebrow. "What. Wait, are you implying that you run through this door?" He said in a tone of disbelief. "I managed to slow down to roughly forty-five percent of the speed I was running at, but there wasn't enough distance for me to slow down all of the way." Logan said solemnly. The Inn Keeper thought over it for a moment. He then sighed. "How the hell am I going to fix this?" He said in a frustrated voice, trying to think of a way to fix the door and wall. He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard blocks of wooden planks being forcefully moved. He saw Logan ripping the damaged blocks from the wall and replacing them with new ones. He saw Logan do the same with the door frame. Logan walked over to a crafting table, made a door, and put it in place.

"Here, this is to compensate for the damages and stress I caused." Logan said as he held out a closed hand. "Please hold out your hand." Logan said kindly. The Inn Keeper did so and was shocked to see a fourth of a stack of emeralds dropped into his hand. He stared disbelievingly at the emeralds. He was pulled from his shock though when he heard loud, heavy foot falls. When he looked back up to Logan, he found that he wasn't there. He decided to take the kind offer.

Cupa was awakened from her sleep by the loud crash. Since the crash, Cupa had gotten out of her bed, and was slowly making her way to the door. She was just reaching for the door knob when the door opened. This caused her to jump, but she soon relaxed when she saw it was just Logan. But then Cupa noticed something off about him. "Logan, are you alright?" She asked worryingly. Logan ducked under the door frame, took one silent step forward, turned around to close the door, and then turned back to Cupa before answering. "I've been better. But a promise made is a promise kept." He said in an exhausted tone. "Wait, does that mean you really did-" Cupa said in disbelief before Logan cut her off. "Yes. I did say that I would repay Vera in twenty fold." Logan said with a slight grin.

"So what happened?" Cupa asked, honestly interested in hearing his story. "Let's just say that getting the coal and iron was the 'easy' part. Getting the clay was harder." Logan said a bit frustrated. "How so?" Cupa asked. Logan gave her a tired look before answering. "I couldn't find any in shallow waters, so I had to dive to the bottom of an ocean to get clay." Cupa did a double take. "Wait, that means that you dived down into water at least thirty meters deep!" Cupa said in a perplexed voice. "How long _can _you hold your breath for?" Logan gave Cupa a slightly dull stare, but she didn't notice it. "I can hold my breath for approximately four minutes and fifty-four seconds while swimming or mining." He replied in a slightly deadened tone. Cupa's mouth was left agape, too stunned to ask a question. Logan continued however. "But it was still hard for me to get the clay. But it wasn't any of that which really got me worn out. No, it was all of the mobs that got me."

At that statement Cupa was snapped out of her dazed state. "What do you mean?" She asked worryingly. "Well, while I was getting the iron and coal, I encountered a few hundred mobs throughout my expedition. It was apparent that some fool had gotten killed down in the abandoned mine shafts I was in. Considering the fact that I came across a zombie wearing full diamond armor with protection IV, Aqua Affinity III, Respiration III and Feather Falling IV. To make matters worse, said fool must have also had an enchanted diamond sword. Damn sword had Sharpness V, Looting III, Knockback II, and Fire Aspect II. I'm not sure how anyone could die with that kind of gear unless they starved to death. It was that sword that did this to my Iron chest plate." Logan said in a slightly dreadful, breathless voice. It was then that Cupa noticed the huge gash across the iron chest plate. But before she could say anything, Logan spoke. "Don't worry Cupa, It didn't go through the under armor. I had managed to step back far enough so that it only got the iron chest plate."

Logan paused for a moment to catch his breath before continuing. "Yeah, I had to break the things neck. The same fool must have been carrying an enchanted bow as well, considering the bow this one skeleton had. Power IV, Punch II, Flame I, and Infinity I. Yeah, that wasn't fun dealing with. But hell, what came next I think I can say was a lot worse." Logan said with great dread. Cupa saw Logan visibly shutter at finishing his last statement. "What happened next?" Cupa asked, afraid of what he was going to say. Logan grunted before answering. "For the remainder of the trip, I kept getting nearly blown up by Creepers." Cupa tensed up when he said Creepers, but Logan didn't notice and continued.

"Yeah, one tends to get exhausted when one hundred and thirty-five Creepers explode within five meters of you over the span of a few hours." Logan said bitterly. Cupa's eyes were wide from hearing the number. "W-what!" Cupa said in a tone of shock and fright. "Yeah, that came pretty damn close to my record." Logan said with gallows humor. "What i-is your record?" Cupa asked fearfully. "Well, for a short expedition, one hundred and forty-four. But hell, that's not as bad as what my brother holds." Logan said in a tone of relief. Cupa was taken aback.

"Yeah, I have a brother. He holds the highest record for nearly-getting-your-ass-blown-up-by-a-creeper-during-a-short-expodtion. The number of Creepers: seven-hundred. I swear to you there was a hundred Creepers per hour." Logan said with dry humor. "I'm just lucky that the resulting fragments of rock and whatever else that was close to those Creepers on my trip were either stopped by the iron armor or didn't go through my under armor." Logan said with dull joy.

Logan took two steps towards the corner he slept standing up last night before he fell forward. Cupa was alarmed at this, rushing over to him and kneeling beside him. "Come on Logan, get back up." Cupa said as she shook him. Logan did not respond. Cupa realized that he had fallen unconscious. Now she had to wait before she could tell him and also ask him a few questions. Being able to do nothing more, Cupa climbed back into the bed and drifted to sleep.

* * *

Cupa awoke to the rays of morning sun light. Rubbing her eyes, she looked around the room. Cupa quickly got out of the bed when she saw that Logan wasn't in the room. She got her boots on, looked the door behind her, and quickly walked to the flight of stairs that led to the inn's main lobby. Yet Logan was still nowhere to be found. She saw the Inn Keeper sitting at the counter where the farmer girl served him his breakfast. Cupa walked over to him and when she was arms length away, she asked him a question. "Have you seen Logan by any chance?" The Inn Keeper jumped from surprise and coughed a bit before he turned to face her.

"Yes, I have seen him. He went by here at five thirty am and said he was going to see Vera the Blacksmith." He said with some traces of his surprise left in his voice. "Thank you." Cupa said to the Inn Keeper before leaving. It took only fifteen minuets of walking before Cupa arrived at Vera's place. In there, she saw Logan wearing only his under armor working on a set of iron armor. He turned to Cupa as soon as she stepped through the door way. His face cover was up. "Hello Cupa. Did you sleep well?" Logan said warmly. "Yes actually. But did you sleep well?" She asked him.

"Oh don't worry about me, I've had enough sleep. Though I'm glad that you are concerned." He said with a smile. Cupa could see that behind Logan was an anvil. "So what are you doing?" Cupa asked as she looked around Logan to get a better view of the anvil. "Repairing my iron armor." Logan said a bit sadly. Cupa could see that an iron chest plate was on the anvil. Aside from the gash and the one arrow hole, it looked otherwise fine to her. "Is the cut in the front and the hole in me back that bad?" Cupa asked. "It's actually a lot more damaged than just that. In fact, it's almost broke." Cupa looked at the chest plate a second time. "It doesn't look almost broken to me." Logan sighed, took one step towards the anvil and picked up the iron chest plate. "Well then, touch what looks like an undamaged section with your hand."

Cupa tensed up. She glanced at the iron chest plate, then at her leather gloved hands, then back at the chest plate. Cupa swallowed the stone that had formed in her throat before she spoke. "With my bare hands?" She asked nervously. "Of course with your bare hands unless they are a whole helluva a lot thinner then what they look, how else are you going to feel the armor through thick leather gloves?" Cupa felt a bead of sweat run down the side of her face. She knew that if she touched anything that wasn't her clothes with her bare hands, it would go up in a bang. She really didn't want Logan to find out the truth, for she feared that he might try to kill her if he did know. "Is there any other way?" She asked nervously. Logan raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?" Logan asked, bewildered. Cupa had to swallow another stone in her throat before speaking. "I mean, do I have to touch it to see what you mean? Is there another way to prove that it's almost broke?" Cupa said nervously with a tremor of fear. She didn't realize that her legs were shaking slightly.

Logan's eyes shifted slightly away from Cupa's for a moment before returning. "I suppose that there is another way. Though you will need a bright light. Give me a moment." He said a bit unsurely as he reached into his pocket. Cupa had no idea as to how humans have that ability to hold a large amount of stuff in that suspiciously small pocket. She watched Logan pull out his hand, which was balled into a fist. Something about his hand had changed though. The skin of his fingers was an orangish red color and looked as if it were faintly glowing. "This should be bright enough." Logan said as he opened his hand, from which a bright, golden light emanated. Cupa had to look away for a moment before her eyes adjusted. When she looked back, she saw that Logan held in his right hand a strange rock. It was gold in color with white lumps. "What is that?" Cupa said as she stared at the glowing gold-whitish lumpy rock. "This is a shard of Glowstone." Logan said a bit triumphantly. With the piece of Glowstone between his fingers, he held it close to the iron chest plate. Cupa leaned in closer to get a better look at it. She noticed what looked like countless little dents in the metal. "I don't get it." Cupa said, confused. Logan put the hand with the shard inside the chest plate. Cupa then saw many pinpoints of golden light appear on the armor.

"What the…" Cupa said trailing off as she looked at all of the points of light. "Those, Cupa are many tiny holes in the chest plate." Logan said in a somewhat tense voice. "How did they get there?" She asked as her eyes went over the armor. "They are the result of rock fragments and whatever else that happened to be nearby a creeper when it explodes." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Normally these micro holes don't really degrade the armor to any considerable extent, but due to the number of creeper explosions that I was in close proximity to. The normally minor amount of damage was compounded and multiplied to an extreme point." Logan said a bit gravely before his tone changed. "Thankfully whatever fragments that the iron armor didn't stop, my secondary armor did." Cupa was amazed at this. "Oh and Cupa your suit of armor and sword is done." Logan said to her before returning to the anvil to continue fixing his own armor. Seeing that Logan was now busy, Cupa walked over to the chest where Vera was standing. She had been watching the whole scene. "He seems to be an interesting person." Vera said as she handed Cupa the suit of armor and sword made for her.

"Yeah, but he kind of scares me." Cupa said as she took the armor and sword from Vera. "Don't you know him?" Vera asked questioningly. Cupa looked Vera in the eye before answering. "No, not really, I only met him two days ago." Vera did a double take. "What? Wait if you don't know him, then why are you with him?" Cupa glanced back to Logan. "He found me and told me how to get here. However along the way I encountered three humans. They were going to do something to me until he showed up." Cupa paused, gathering her breath as the unpleasant memories came back to her. "What were the three humans going to do to you, and how did he find you?" Vera asked Cupa quizzically. "Apparently, Logan was following me, trying to make sure I made it here safe. He said that those three humans would have raped and killed me if he didn't show up." Vera gasped. "That's horrible! So what did Logan do to them?" Vera was shocked, and now she really wanted to know more of Cupa's story.

"Well one of the men was in the process of cutting open my jacket with an iron sword when Logan showed up." Cupa paused, trying to think of the best way to describe what happened next. "You saw him?" Vera asked. "No, not at first, the man who was cutting my jacket open didn't either. He got stabbed through the chest with a weird diamond sword." Cupa paused, trying to call forth the memory of the swords' appearance. "How was it weird?" Vera asked, eager to know. "The sword seemed to have been made of mostly diamond, but its inside had some other things. It had what looked like a line of Redstone running through down most of the center with pairs of gold branches at regular intervals. Between each branch of both sides was what looked like a small sphere of Lapis. It's really hard to describe it since I only saw it briefly. The Redstone and gold branches were glowing brightly. The iron armor around were the sword had pierced through was glowing white, I could smell burnt flesh. He was alive for a moment longer and he looked me in the eye before Logan's fist slammed into the side of his head hard enough to send him flying. What happened after that was….Brutal." Cupa paused to catch her breath.

"The other man who was dressed like the one Logan stabbed; well he got both sliced and punched. Though it was only a few hits, you could barely recognize the half sliced half pulped gory mess that was once a man. The last guy, a man with full iron armor and a gold sword, Logan … left him alive but not before tearing his arm off first. Well, it was more like twisting it off, but it was still gruesome to watch." Cupa said, now relieved that somebody else knew. Vera's mouth was left agape. She shot a disbelieving glance to Logan, unable to believe that this was the same man Cupa had just told her about. Vera then looked back to Cupa with wide eyes. "So what are you going to do?" she asked Cupa with a mix of fear and concern. "I really don't know for sure. Hopefully he will just let me leave." Cupa said worriedly. They were interrupted when Logan, spoke. "Ah, now I'm done. Come on Cupa, you need to know how to use a sword.

"What?" Cupa said, shocked by the suddenness of Logan's statement. "Well, as far as I can tell, you don't have any experience in using a sword. If you are going to be able to defend yourself, then you will need to learn basic swordsmanship." Logan said in a serious tone. Cupa gave Vera one last glance before following Logan out the door. "Ugh, sometimes it's a real bane being this tall." Logan said as he crouched in order to fit through the doorway. Cupa followed without needing to duck. They walked only two dozen meters from the street when Logan stopped and turned around to face Cupa. He then pulled out from his armored pocket two wooden swords. He handed Cupa one of the swords. He spoke as Cupa took the sword. "We'll use these for practice for now. This is the safest way to teach swordsmanship to someone as inexperienced as you." Logan said in a gentle but firm voice.

"Now let us begin. First, position your body like so." He said as he spread his legs slightly apart with one foot slightly forward while his torso was turned at an angle. Cupa copied his stance. "Good, now raise your sword so that the bottom is above your waist but not above your navel." Cupa realized that he meant her belly button. "Good Cupa, now you know the basic position. Let's continue." Logan said with a confident smile. "Now onto the basics of fighting. Now I know that you may think it's as easy as swinging your sword at your target, but that's not the case. You see, there are many techniques of sword fighting, but I'll just teach you some of the basic ones just so you can get by. First draw your shoulders back and raise your sword so that the bottom of the hilt is level with your navel." Cupa held the sword a little farther from her body as she did so. Logan frowned slightly. "Don't change the distance from which the sword is held from your body, keep it close to yourself. " She fixed her little mistake. "Good, now when you swing your sword, your elbows should move with your shoulders and back in the same motion, like so." He said as he swung his sword; moving his elbows, shoulders and back in one motion. Cupa could not detect where one motion stopped and where the other began. "Now you try." Logan said with confidence. Cupa's first try was sloppy. "Try again Cupa" Logan said. After a few more tries Logan spoke. "Good now let's move on."

"Now it's time to add another element to this; forward movement. As you know, your opponents will not just be standing still, waiting for you to strike them. The forward movement of your legs should be in sync with you swings. Not only does this allow you to better engage your opponent, but this also adds to the power of your sword swings. I will demonstrate." With that, Logan turned right, and took three long strides away from Cupa. Between the second and third strides, he swung the wooden sword as his right foot touched the ground and began the third stride. Logan then turned around and returned back to where he was standing before. "Now it's your turn, Cupa." Logan said in a warm tone. Cupa placed her left foot forward on her second stride and began to swing her sword, which was in her right hand. Logan saw her mistake and tried to warn her, but he was too late. Cupa lost her balance upon swinging and her momentum carried her forward. She fell shoulder first to the ground.

"Oww!" Cupa exclaimed as her right shoulder landed on a rounded, wedge shaped rock. She got back up, rubbing her right shoulder for a moment before brushing the dirt off her jacket. Cupa looked back to Logan and was about to ask him why she fell until he spoke. "I tried to warn you, but I was too late." He said apologetically, pausing for a moment before speaking. "The key is to step forward with the same foot as the hand that your sword is in; unless you're holding your sword with both hands or if you're duel welding swords. The same rules pretty much apply to side movements and backwards movement. Now to parry, or divert, an opponent's sword if they are armed with one is pretty easy." Logan paused, catching his breath before continuing.

"Just simply angle your sword slightly away from you in the direction of which your opponents sword in from and apply forward force in the direction of which the blade was coming from." Logan said while showing some examples. "I think I get it now." Cupa said with some confidence. Good. What I've taught you should be good for now. However, I recommend that you find somebody else in this village to teach you more swordsmen ship if you want to be safe. It's getting close to dusk now, so let's head back to the inn so you can get your clothes washed and give yourself a bath." Logan said. It took Cupa a moment to realize that he was referring to her dirt covered jacket and the fact that she hasn't taken a bath since meeting him.

Cupa eased herself into the hot, steamy water of the bath tub. The warmth of the water soothed her mussels and relaxed her tense body. Cupa just laid there in the bath for a few minutes, enjoying the feeling of relaxation that the water brought to her. She then reached over to the little counter next to the bath tub for a bar of lye soap and a wash cloth. The lye soap slipped from her wet, leather gloved hands and fell into the clear water of the bath. Cupa sighed in annoyance as she tried to get a hold of the slippery bar only for it to slip out of her gloved hands again. "If only I didn't have to wear these gloves." Cupa said quietly as she thought of a way to grab the soap bar without it slipping from her grasp again. She knew that she didn't _have _to wear the gloves on her hands; but she also knew that if she didn't, anything that she touched would explode. Cupa finally managed to get a hold of the soap bar by grabbing it with the now wet wash cloth. After rubbing the wash cloth around the soap bar, she began cleaning her body.

As she worked her way up her legs with the soapy cloth, Cupa began to reflect on what had transpired in the last few days. _"There are so many odd things about Logan: his height; his strength; the speed he can run at; his endurance to, well, everything I've seen so far. What he said yesterday." _Cupa stopped at the thought of what Logan said in Vera's shop.

_"'Because the properties of this world do not allow it!' Just what did he mean by 'this' world? Unless he was counting the Nether and the End as separate worlds. But the look in his eyes when he said that...made it seem as if though Logan had meant of other worlds like this one." _The strangeness of that thought made Cupa remember that sword she had seen hours after the first time she'd encountered Logan. _"There was something about that sword that just wasn't normal. It wasn't just the way it looked or appeared to made of; there was something more. I felt something_ _emanate from that sword, but what?" _Getting past her stomach, Cupa continued to think about what she had felt. _"Wait. I didn't just feel something from that sword. I felt something emanate from Logan too. Something similar to the sword, but what?" _Cupa sighed. _"I really should stop thinking about it for now and just enjoy the hot water." _With that, Cupa laid back down in the bath tub, rinsing herself off. The water had cooled a bit, but it was still warm. Cupa managed to relax again in the tub whenthere was a knock at the door.

"Who's there?" Cupa said aloud, still in the tub. A female voice replied. "It's me, the inn clothes maid. May I come in, Miss Cupa?" The Clothes Maid asked in a worried voice. "Yes, you may come in." Cupa said. The girl entered in the bathroom, and placed Cupa's clothes on a large counter. "Your clothes are clean and are on the counter." The Clothes Maid said before leaving the room, closing the door behind her. "Well, I guess it's about time I got out." Cupa said to herself before lifting herself up and stepping out of the bathtub. She grabbed a towel off a rack and dried herself off. Cupa then got her clothes back on and left the bathroom. She walked down the short hallway to the room where she and Logan were staying in. The door was unlocked.

When Cupa opened the door, she found Logan sitting in a chair that was facing the wall at a table. "What are you doing?" Cupa asked. Logan must have not heard the door open, for he stiffened up upon hearing her voice. He relaxed a moment later and turned his back. "Hello Cupa, I didn't hear you come in." He said a bit nervously, a slight blush of embarrassment on his cheeks while he waved to her with his right hand. It took Cupa a moment to notice that a good part of Logan's forearm was bare. She closed the door once she was in the room and walked over to Logan. "So what are you doing, Logan?" Cupa asked again. "Just removing my under armor." He said causally as he went right back to it. Cupa just looked at the number of armor segments that were laid out on the table. "Just how many pieces are there?" Cupa said in awe as her gaze shifted from the armor pieces to Logan's bare forearm. "Well, I've removed fifty-six segments already. I only have nineteen more to go before this arm is done." He said as he began to remove another piece. "Wow..." Cupa trailed off as she stared at Logan's bare forearm. His skin was quite pale, but Cupa could see that every muscle was well toned. "While there is a quicker way to remove this armor, but I'm doing it the long way to check if all of the pieces are good." Logan said plainly. "Why so many pieces?" Cupa asked. "Well it's made like this as to allow full flexibility without sacrificing protection. After I remove the whole suit, I'm taking a bath." Logan had removed the last of the elbow plating when both he and Cupa heard a commotion outside. They then heard someone running down the hallway. The Inn Keeper was suddenly in the door way. "The Village is under attack!" He said in a near breathless panicked voice.


	3. Chapter 3

A grave silence fell upon the room as Logan and Cupa processed this news. The silence was so heavy that Cupa felt like she was suffocating. It was finally broken when Logan spoke. "What? Who…" He said in a stunned voice, still sitting in the chair. Logan then began to rise from his chair as he spoke again."Who?" He said in a voice of mixed worry and puzzlement. Cupa then felt a thrill of fear run up her spine. She actually found herself taking a step away from Logan. Cupa also noticed that the innkeeper too had taken a step back when Logan stood up. "Who is attacking this village?" Logan said in a tone that was too familiar to Cupa.

_ "That tone of voice," _Cupa realized with frigid horror._ "Is the same one he had when he spoke to that one man before he ripped off his arm!"_ Cupa thought as the memories of that day flooded back into her mind. She was surprised that the innkeeper had found the courage to reply to Logan. "A large group of bandits." The Innkeeper said with nervous anxiety. "How many?" Logan asked in a commanding voice. "At least one hundred." The Innkeeper replied. "Okay, now go find a fortification place to hide" Logan said to the Innkeeper before turning to Cupa. "Cupa, go with him. Bring your armor and sword. Do not engage in combat unless it is absolutely necessary. You are not ready to deal with raiders." Logan said with a stern and concerned voice. Just then, they heard a crash and screams. Logan drew a diamond sword and smashed the top of the doorway with his free hand. "Go, get out of here. Now!" Logan almost yelled to both Cupa and the Innkeeper. Just as Cupa scrambled out of the room, she saw two men appear down the hallway. They were clad in leather armor and wielded iron swords. Logan charged toward the two men with great speed. Wooden floor boards with loud snaps as Logan closed the ten meter distance between him and the raiders in about two seconds. The first man didn't even have time to react before Logan cleaved him in half with a diamond blade. The second man swung his iron sword. Logan thrusted his left arm into the path of the blade. The blade sliced into the iron armor but went no farther. Before the man could withdraw the blade, Logan swung his diamond blade toward the man's head and lobbed it off.

Logan pulled the iron blade free from his iron armor and tossed it aside before he turned back to Cupa and the Innkeeper." Get out of here, I'll deal with the raiders while you two make your escape." Logan yelled before he charged down the stairs. Cupa was dumbfounded from what she had just witnessed._ "How could Logan just shrug off a sword blow to the arm?" _She thought as she heard the sounds of men shouting, crashing, dull pings, and thuds came from the floor below. Then silence followed. Cupa snapped out of her stupor when the Innkeeper tugged at her sleeve. "Come on. We need to get to a safer place like Logan said" He said anxiously. Cupa was about to follow him when she remembered something. "Wait! We need to get the armor pieces Logan left on the table!" She said with new-found panic. The two quickly went back into the room and took the armor pieces off the table. They stuffed the pieces in their pockets before they left the room and then the building.

Smoke began to blanket the village as buildings were set ablaze in the streets. Some of the villagers were desperately trying to fend off the raiders. Those villagers whom were fighting knew that they weren't going to win. The only thing they hoped to do was delay the raiders long enough to allow the others to escape. Meanwhile, Logan had only gotten twenty meters away from the inn when a group of four raiders ambushed him. The first raider attempted to strike Logan in the back with an enchanted iron sword. Logan saw movement in the corner of his vision and sidestepped the raider's sword. With one downward slash, Logan sliced off the raider's arm off before punching him in the chest. The raider was sent hurling through the air and slammed into a wall of a building with enough force to leave a blood splat. The second raider charged at Logan from his right. Before the raider could even begin to swing his sword, Logan took a step toward him while swinging his diamond sword. The raider realized this too late to stop himself and ran into the path of Logan's sword. The raiders head landed on the ground with a dull thud as the rest of his body continued forward into the ground, landing a foot short of Logan's feet. Logan swiped out the legs of a third raider and stabbed him through the heart before he hit the ground. A moment later, the fourth raider threw down his sword and turned to run. Logan threw his diamond sword at the raider, and it pierced him. The dead raider fell.

As Logan pulled the diamond sword from the raiders back, a woman's scream filled the burning street. Logan ran toward the source of the scream, which was around a corner of an intersection. Moving as fast as he could, Logan didn't have time to avoid the cobblestone street corner. Logan's right shoulder made contact as he rounded the corner and chipped some of it away. He did not slow down at all. Logan found a woman laying on a side walk near a house. He called to her, but she remained still. Taking a closer look, Logan realized he knew this woman._ "It's the clothes maid!"_

After recognizing her, Logan noticed the bloody slit on her lower back._ "She's been stabbed." _Logan thought as he kneeled down beside her. He placed the index and middle fingers of his left hand on her neck. His grip on his diamond sword tightened when he didn't feel a pulse. "Damn it, I'm too late." Logan said to himself as he withdrew his fingers from her neck. He was about to stand back up when the body moved slightly. Rolling the body over, Logan found a child villager. The boy's green eyes were wide with fear and shock. Logan lifted up his face cover in an attempt not to frighten him any more than he already was. Upon doing so, he noticed that there were tears in the boys eyes, a pained look on his face and blood was splattered on his chest. With sickening realization Logan noticed the stab wound in the boy's chest. "It's going to be okay. Just stay awake for a little longer." Logan said calmly to the boy as he carefully took the boy in his arms. "It hurts...mama." The boy said in a weak, pained, tear chocked voice as he reached to Logan's face with his bloody left hand. The boy's hand stopped as his breathing ceased and his body fell limp. The boy had died.

Logan's mouth opened slightly from shock as the realization of what had just happened fell upon him. _"I...I was too late to...save this child."_ Logan thought as his mind began to fill with anguish. He genteelly set the boy down and closed his eyes before his own body to shake from anguish. A lone foot step made Logan stop. "Damn bastards didn't even have anything good to steal." A man of six foot two said to himself before noticing Logan. "Who the hell are you?" He said as he raised his iron sword. Logan turned to the man. "You...killed them, didn't you?" Logan said in a low voice. "Yeah, I killed them." The man said coldly.

The man's own words seemed to echo to him as he said them. The world around him seemed to take on a new quality of stillness when he finished. Even the nearby fires seemed to have slowed. Raising his sword in preparation to slay the armored figure in front of him, the raider felt all of his confidence leave him. "What the fuck?" He said, bewildered as to why he felt uneasy when he looked at the figure before him. Then, before the raider's eyes, something began to happen to the man before him. The fire and smoke nearest to the man seemed to lean away from him. The raider even saw the few blades of grass that were near him sway away, as if in the wind. A faint red glow appeared around the man's body and move away from it like smoke. The man then looked up at him. The raider could see that the man's cobalt blue eyes were actually glowing. As the red glow grew in intensity, so did the intensity of the glow in his eyes. The man's bare right forearm began to change. "What...the fuck!?" The raider said as he watched armor appear on the man's forearm and cover it. The tip of the man's diamond sword began to appear as if it were dissolving away. A new glow caught the raider's eye and when he turned to it, his eyes widen.

A few feet in the direction which the diamond sword was pointing, the tip of a larger sword began to form. As the new sword formed from seemingly thin air, the raider realized that this sword was unlike anything he had ever seen. Though it appeared to made of diamond, but within the blade he could see orbs of what almost looked like lapis. The orbs fell into a pattern with what looked like pairs of sweeping gold arcs, save for the one between the top most pair of arcs. Deeper in, what looked like solid line of redstone dust connected each pair of golden arcs and ran down the center of the blade for nearly its entire length. The handgaurd of the sword appeared as if though it were made of emerald. Only then did the raider notice that the sword's blade length was just about as long as he was tall. It was also much wider and thicker than any normal blade. It was at that point did the raider take notice of the fire that now seemed to be drawn towards the man. The strange armor gauntlets of the man also appeared more claw like. When the raider looked back at the man's face, he noticed that the man's eyes were now an intense purple. Fire, smoke, and what could have only been a red aura swirled around the man like whirlpool by the time he stood up fully.

The raider finally noticed that the man before him stood nearly as tall as an Enderman. Then, then man grabbed him by the left shoulder with bone shattering force and impaled him with the strange new sword. The raider felt a burning sensation begin to spread throughout his body as he was lifted off of his feet and brought to face level with the man. The raider was brought so close to the man's face that he could actually see the man's irises in good detail. There were bits of red scattered throughout each iris in such a way as to give the man the appearance of having purple glowing eyes. The raider felt the man's hot, moist breath as he spoke in a leveled but rage filled voice. "How dare you," The raider no longer felt any moisture in the man's breath as he continued to speak. "Cut short," The man's breath, to the raider, felt as if his face was near a camp fire's flames. The raider could see a glow begin to come from the man's mouth and nostrils. At the same time, the raider began to see thin wisps of smoke come from the man's mouth and nostrils, which quickly grew in intensity and thickness as the man continued to speak. "A life that had yet to begin!"

A black, featureless cover slid out from near the top of the man's helmet and coasted over his face, obscuring it. Two glowing purple spots appeared right were the man's eyes would be. Where the man's nose and mouth would be there was a glow like fire and thick, dark smoke came from there as well. Then to the raider's horror, the mask began to flow. The black material of the mask began to quickly morph in a terrorifing, monstrous, angry face. The eyes then moved up an inch as the mask took shape. The mouth of the mask had bared black teeth; which were like a human's, save for that they were semi-fang like and the canines were more akin to a wolf's. However, the mask's face bore no resemblance to the man's. The surrealness of it made the raider doubt this was actually happening until the burning sensation had completely spread throughout his body and brought him into an unimaginable agony. This agony only got worse as the seconds went by. The raider broke eye contact with the man from the pain he felt, tilting his head down from it. Only then did the raider see why he felt like he was burning.  
_  
_ Anywhere he looked on his own body, he saw only ash and ember. Only a heat as intense as lava brought the raider's horrified gaze back to the man. He could see flames lick around the rim of each nostril as thick, near black smoke billowed out to each side, never obscuring the rageful purple eyes. Flames slightly licked at the skin of the mask beyond each corner of the mouth, with smoke billowing out in a similar direction, which too never obscured his eyes. The flames an smoke seemed to move in accordance to his breathing. More terror than what the raider thought possible entered him when that monstrous mask began to move like a real, living face. The voice he heard come from it: It was not the voice of the man, but of something that was nearly demonic.

"I will not let these crimes go unpunished. I shall end both your days and the days of those whom you follow tonight with this blade. You wickedness against the innocent shall be paid by eternal suffering in the Nether. Your soul shall be forever entrapped in soul sand." The man said to the raider before pulling the sword out, then cutting him in two. As the former living body of ash and ember that was once a man fell, it broke apart and flurried upwards. Nothing remained of the raider, not even the iron armor he wore. Logan turned away from the bodies of the clothes maid and her child, and sprinted down the street in the direction of Vera's forge and home.

Vera had barricaded the iron door and the windows of her home-workplace. Outside was at least ten raiders trying to get in. In Vera's slightly shaking hands was a diamond sword which had Sharpness III. She readied herself to strike down any raider that got through._ "I'm not going down without a fight!"_ Vera thought to herself as she stood ready to strike. The sound of raiders trying to break in died away and was replaced by many footsteps. Vera could just barely hear a faint hissing noise near the door. She realized what it was a moment too late and she was sent sprawling to the floor as the shock wave ripped through the building.

The world seemed to bend and curve around Vera as she struggled to get up from the wooden floor. She heard only a high pitched ringing and the front of her body throbbed painfully, her arms in particular. The ringing began to subside as Vera reached for the diamond sword that laid two feet in front of her. The little strength that was in her right arm left her as soon as her hand touched the swords handle.

Pushing forward with her knees, Vera managed to grab the sword when she heard footsteps on what was left of the stone stairs. Vera stood up quickly and turned towards the door; but in doing so, she lost her balance and fell on her bum. She glanced up to the iron door, which was badly damaged and barely standing. Vera saw in the window of the door a man staring back at her, with a menacing grin spread across his face. It sounded as though he was trying to push down the door. The iron door, in this state, would not hold.

Vera thought she felt the ground shake as she saw a reddish glow appear behind the raider. A moment after the glow appeared, the raider's eyes went wide as a metallic screech pierced Vera's ears. To Vera's surprise and horror, a claw-like hand pierced through the center of the door and the raider. The raider's wide gaze fell upon Vera as the smoking, reddish grey-black claw-like hand grabbed hold of the door and whatever possessed that hand pulled both the door and the raider back. The raider let out a scream as he was pulled away before it was abruptly silenced. Then the nauseating stench of burnt flesh assaulted Vera's nose, making her gag. She could hear that the raiders were in a commotion, which was followed by the sounds of iron swords clanging against what sounded like stone. Then Vera heard a noise come from her right and when she turned, she saw that a raider was in the window, preparing to jump in. Vera was about to get up to defend herself when she saw a brilliant red and gold glow appear behind the raider.

Then what appeared to be the upper part of a diamond blade entered through the block of stone brick on the left of the raider. The blade sliced through the block, severed the raider in two at mid-stomach level, and sliced the stone brick block on the other side of the raider before disappearing. The stone three centimeters around where the blade had sliced through was glowing white and it seemed to begin to flow like lava. There was something similar with the raiders iron armor. Then Vera noticed that the raider's body and armor seemed to begin to burn. There was not any flames or even smoke as the raider's body, armor and all, was to white ash and glowing embers. The body kept its shape and detail perfectly as it pitched forward and fell. It crumbled into an unrecognizable mound of glowing ash and ember as soon as it crashed to the floor.

Vera was unable to rationalize what she had just seen. Then Vera heard and, to a lesser extent, felt heavy foot falls start from the right side of her. The sound of the foot falls and the way how the building shook just so slightly with each one terrified her to the point of immobility. When the noise and feeling of the foot falls and feeling of the building shaking slightly grew a bit lighter, Vera had a glimmer of hope that whatever was making it was going away. That hope was crushed when the foot falls grew louder and a red-gold glow appeared to the right side fo the door way. The glow was growing brighter as the foot falls became louder. The glow almost seemed like it was coming from something that what the foot falls belonged to was holding. The glow itself was as bright as the afternoon sun on a clear day when a large figure obscured the doorway. Vera was unable to see its head for it stood taller than the doorframe. She then heard it take a small breath and slowly let it out. For reasons unknown to her; Vera found the sound of it exhaling similar to a child breathing against a cold window to fog it. However, unlike a child's intensions with a window, this thing's intensions Vera could not figure out. It didn't seem to be running out of breath though.

Not even a minute had passed when the thing began exhaling before Vera noticed the barest flickers of flames that hardly licked the bottom of the stone brick block. The moment she saw those hints of flame, Vera also noticed that the block of stone bricks that made the top of the door frame and wall was beginning to glow. Half a minute after that, it stopped exhaling. By that point, the block was glowing red-orange and Vera thought for sure that she could see the stone beginning to sag. The figure then leaned back its body and whipped forward. The glowing red-orange stone bricks shattered and exploded forwards. Somehow none of the glowing fragments struck Vera, but she could see them already blackening and smoldering the areas of the wooden floor where they had landed.

It was then that Vera looked to where the stone bricks used to be, trying to summon the courage to face whatever the figure was before her. Whatever little courage that remained in Vera was destroyed and replaced by utter terror upon seeing its face. Silhouetted by the light of whatever it was holding; Vera could see that it possessed glowing purple eyes that seemed to bulge, a fiery glow in each of its wide smoking nostrils, and lips that were pulled far back, reveling teeth. The teeth were black and semi-sharp; roughly the size of a humans teeth except for the canines, which were as large as a wolf's. Dark smoke billowed out from the corners of its mouth while the mouth itself glowed like lava behind its teeth._ "Is that a demon!"_ Vera screamed in her mind.

Then it broke the two blocks of stone bricks on its left with its arm before doing the same on the right. Vera could now see for certain the source of the red-gold glow. It was a diamond sword in which the blade itself was at least six feet long, seven inches broad and two or so inches thick. Vera noticed that within the blade, running down its center for almost its entire length, was a line of what looked like redstone. At regular intervals, a pair of golden arcs branched out to each side of the blade, yet not exiting it. Positioned away from the redstone and gold arcs was what looked like an orb of lapis for each arc, expect for the top most arc, which was centered above the point where the arc began. It was the redstone and gold arcs in the sword that was emitting the powerful light. Vera also noticed that the slip guard looked as if though it were made of emerald. The monstrous figure then began to walk towards Vera.

Only now did Vera notice the blood that covered its left arm. She could see that the blood was dripping unto the floor. Then Vera realize to her horror that the blood on the things arm was not its own, but the blood of the raiders. She realized that in one long stride the monstrosity had covered half of the distance between her and itself. One drop in particular caught her attention in that it seemed to bubble. Only then did Vera realize to her horror that the blood on its arm was boiling.

The figure then took a second step forward. Vera could feel heat emanating from its body. It looked down at her with its purple eyes which seemed to hold unimaginable fury. Vera felt a chill run down her spine and thought her heart had stopped beating when it spoke. "Vera..." Vera was now certain that before her was a demon. Yet when it suddenly kneeled down before her with its left hand extended out, it left Vera bewildered. "Are you hurt?" It said to her. She couldn't begin to figure out how to respond to this thing. Vera glanced up to its eyes and realized that they weren't purple at all, but rather an alternating pattern of crimson red and cobalt blue. It was then that the revelation of not what but who it was before her came to Vera.

The sheer shock of it left Vera completely unable to respond verbally. She slowly and weakly too the claw-like gauntleted hand. It felt as hot as bath water, yet Vera could see that blood only a centimeter away from her fingers was still roiling. It appeared to Vera that he put no effort in hurling her to her feet. Vera was still stunned from the revelation when he placed the diamond sword she dropped back into her hand. She looked at it in confusion for a moment before he spoke. "Go left from the street and head straight. There are no raiders in that direction. Go now." He said before leaving. After a moment, Vera did what she was told.

Since leaving the Inn; Cupa, along with the Inn Keeper and the rest of the people left alive at the Inn, were trying to flee the Village. They had already came across the bodies of other villagers. Quite a few of the bodies had on leather tunics and leather pants, some with full leather armor. Only a few had iron swords, which were quickly taken up by the group. The rest seemed to have died fighting the raiders with iron pickaxes, shovels, axes and even two hoes. It, however, didn't end well.

"My God." The Inn Keeper said as he looked at the carnage before him. Hearing sounds farther down the street ahead of them, Cupa and the others turned right and went down a street that surprisingly wasn't on fire. Aside from the broken husk of an iron golem and the broken bodies of ten raiders, the street was otherwise empty. They could see that at the end of street was a small field that gave way to a forest. "Get to the forest! It's the only chance we got at surviving this!" The Inn Keeper yelled as he ran.  
Cupa, though lagging behind, had just entered the field when she tripped on a rock. She turned right in mid fall and landed in the soft dirt elbow first. Only the Inn Keeper had stopped and turned back to help Cupa up. It was then, as Cupa got up, did she realize that the armor pieces in her jacket pockets were gone."Were is the armor pieces!" She exclaimed in panic. The Inn Keeper was about to tell Cupa to forget about the armor pieces when he finally the absence of weight in his pockets. The moment Cupa was on her feet, he checked his own pockets and found them empty. "What's wrong?" Cupa asked worriedly. "The armor pieces I had are gone too!" The Inn Keeper said in disbelief.

The moment he had finished his sentence, screams filled the air. The screams, Cupa realized with a shutter, belonged to those people who had kept running after she had tripped. Then there was the sounds of iron sword clashing against iron sword. Some of the people were now running back towards them, a couple of which were badly injured. It dawned on both the Inn Keeper and Cupa that they were surrounded. There was only a few of the defenders and other people left from the Inn now.

Then Cupa heard a disturbingly familiar voice. "Well what do you know, it's you again." The owner of the voice said in a hostile manner. Cupa looked ahead of her and saw that fifty feet from her was the one man Logan had left alive the other day. To either side of him were two men in full iron armor holding bows drawn back, ready to fire. "Don't kill 'em just yet people, we're going to have a little fun first." He said to the raiders with him. A gruff female voice sounded off to Cupa's left. "Hey Nick, whatcha yah going to do with that girl over there?" The iron cladded woman said loudly, gesturing to Cupa. "I'm going to deal with myself. You can have that girl over there though, Meg." Nick said in an aggravated tone. Cupa realized that he was referring to the young female farmer that worked in the Inn. Nick was now only thirty-five feet away from Cupa.

"I'm going to take my sweet time getting my revenge on you." Nick said maliciously as he approached Cupa. The other raiders were closing in as well. _"This is it. This is the end. Even if I use my power, there's no way I'll get out of this alive."_ Cupa thought to herself as tears began to form in her eyes. Suddenly, a flaming arrow appeared and struck Meg in the head, piercing through her helmet. She fell to the ground, dead.

That stopped all of the raiders' cold in their tracks. "Where the fuck did that arrow come from?!" Nick shouted angrily. "I think it came from down that street." One of the other raiders said. Then they all heard the screams of many men and some women, even the sound of a block of TNT going off. "Jimbo, Gorres, Tike, and Ron; go down that street and deal with any fuckers you see." Nick demanded. The four men went down the street, which was engulfed by flame and smoke. A minute went by after they disappear into the fire and smoke filled street before Cupa heard the four men scream. Then, catapulting through the smoke and flames was a body. The body landed between Cupa and the raiders closest to her left. The raiders only took a few steps towards the body before stopping. "Oh my God!" One female raider in iron armor said when she recognized the body.

The body was Ron's. He laid on the ground limp, broken, and dead. His body was utterly broken, with his arms and legs bent at unnatural angles. Along with that, his body had many deep, oozing lacerations. Ron's chest was practically ripped apart. Deep, crisscrossing slashes marked his chest. The bones were broken at each gouge and poked through the shredded armor. Everywhere there was a slash mark on his body was also burns. Whatever had done this to him had left his flesh blackened, brown and leathery at and near where ever it had touched. The five gouges on his face were the same like the many on his chest. The burns had destroyed one of his green eyes, burning it out entirely. The left eye, on the other hand, remained frozen wide with utter fear. His mouth too was locked in the twisted expression of him screaming. The sight of this made all who looked shutter in fear.

Then Cupa felt a chill run down her spine. A strange sensation filled her being, which made her skin feel like it was crawling. She shuttered from the alien sensation as a feeling of uneasiness unlike any other she had ever felt before fell upon her. It was then that Cupa noticed that she wasn't the only who felt it. All around, both villagers and raiders alike showed the same expression of unease. Cupa realized that the source of this feeling was not the dead body but rather something down the smoke filled street. She, along with all present with her, turned their attention toward the smoke filled street. The ominous feeling continued to grow stronger, yet no one could se anything through the dark grey smoke, save for the defused glow of building fires.

The farmer girl then spoke, her voice filled with alarm. "Jack, what is that?!" Cupa didn't know who Jack was nor what she had seen until the Inn Keeper replied. "What the hell?!" It was then that Cupa noticed it. In the center of the dark grey smoke obscured street hovered a pair of faint purple orbs. The orbs hovered over eight feet off the ground and had a defused look to them. The Cupa noticed that a few feet down and away from the purple orbs was a defused line of red. For some reason that Cupa couldn't understand, the red line looked like glowing redstone. Then she noticed that below the purple orbs was a pair of orange-white orbs. The orange-white orbs were smaller and closer together than the purple orbs. Then Cupa noticed that a short distance below the orange-white orbs was a larger fiery glow. Cupa found something disturbingly uncanny about how those five glows were positioned like a face. Her eyes widen in alarm at the sudden realization that the glows did fall in the general locations of the eyes, nostrils, and mouth.

At the same time, Cupa realized that the glows were getting brighter. Then she heard what sounded like distant, heavy even breathing that was akin to a beast closing in for the kill. The ominous feeling that invaded her being, Cupa realized, grew stronger in accordance to the glow's brightness. She heard a noise off to her left and looked away from the street to see the source of it, only to find a startled Jack. Cupa could see that Jack's right hand was covered in blood. She saw that the source of the blood was from his nose, which was still bleeding heavily. His eyes were still locked on the street. Cupa followed his gaze and she was alarmed at what she saw. The thing which the glows belonged to was getting closer, for the glows were no longer faint.

Cupa could now see that the glows had grown slightly in size and gotten much brighter. She could see that the red line, which glowed like powered redstone wire, was at least six feet long. Then Cupa saw something else. At regular intervals along the length of the red line were sweeping golden arc shaped glows. The golden glows, though bright themselves, were not as bright as the red line. Then Cupa saw many lapis blue colored orbs which were near each golden arc-like glow. Then that was followed by a glow colored like diamond that seemed to encase all of the other glows.

It was then that Cupa realized that the collective glows together appeared like a defused image of a sword. Suddenly, there was violent gust of wind that blew towards the glow. The smoke almost appeared to resist the wind, but to no avail. As the dark grey smoke was blown away, it seemed to attempt to cling to the source of the strange glows. At that moment, the source of both the strange glows and the ominous feeling was finally reveled.

The source was a large figure which carried the strangest and largest sword Cupa had ever seen. It held the sword slightly behind itself off to its right side. The sword itself was the source of most of the glows Cupa had seen only moments ago. Although now she could see that the overall glow from it was bright as sun light. Despite that, the figure's face was hardly illuminated. The intense purple orbs were really the figure's eyes, which seemed to roil with wrath. The other glows were too the figure's nostrils and mouth, from which smoke billowed. The smoke itself traveled anywhere but in the path of its eyes. A voice broke Cupa away from fobbing sight of the figure. "Don't you two idiots just stand there. Shoot the damn thing!" Nick said.

The two men next to Nick quickly drew back the string of their bows and took aim. They released the string of their bows a second apart from each other, sending the deadly projectiles toward the forward moving figure. The figure shifted its gaze to the first arrow. The arrow caught fire in mid-flight and burned to ash before it could get within thirty feet of the figure. The figure caught the other arrow three feet away from its face using only the index and middle fingers of its left hand without looking. The figure snapped the arrow in half as it shifted its gaze upon Cupa.

For reasons unknown to her, Cupa suddenly felt light headed. The world then began to spin across her eyes and she fell to her knees. Black flecks flew across the edges of her vision. Fighting off the darkness that threatened to consume her vision, she staggered to her feet. Sweat trickled down her forehead as the world blurred. She managed to look back up to the approaching figure, who seemed to go in and out of focused. Cupa's vision the blurred completely and darkened as she felt herself pitch forward and fall. She dully felt the impact of her body landing on the soft ground and the last thing she heard was footsteps before her world turned to darkness.

Jack rushed over to Cupa as soon as she had fell. He noticed as he ran to Cupa that the raiders, after seeing what happened with their first attempt to kill the figure, were retreating. Jack kneeled beside Cupa and rolled her onto her back. He placed the index and middle fingers of his right hand below the jaw on her left cheek while watching her chest. Some of his worry disappeared when he felt a steady pulse and saw the steady rise and fall of her chest. Two defenders were suddenly to either side of him, swords held ready to strike. "Run, we'll hold the monstrosity off long enough so you can escape!" One of them yelled. Jack didn't understand until he looked to his left and saw that the figure was only a few feet away. Jack noticed that the grass around its feet was smoldering and the air wavered around its body. The thing was looking right at him when it spoke. "The rest of you, leave. And you," The figure pointed to him. "Keep her safe. I will deal with the raiders." It was at that moment did Jack realize just who the figure was.


End file.
